eXistenZ

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When I unearthed a bargain price VHS copy of "eXistenZ" I had no recollection of having even heard of the film. At that price and with a cast that included Sarah Polley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Ian Holm I figured, why not experiment? Unlike most of my video experiments I fell immediately into the story and really enjoyed the film. It is easy to watch and while Polley and Holm have small parts, Leigh is one screen for almost the entire film. Which is probably why she elected to do this instead of "Eyes Wide Shut". Her co-star is Jude Law in what I would rate his all-time best performance. Although I was very impressed I don't recommend "eXistenZ" for everyone. It could be described as an anti-"Matrix". Not in an intentional sense since they were being made at the same time, but rather in their respective target audiences. So if you seek it out because you really liked "The Matrix", you may be disappointed. It has a fairly narrow target audience and because of this it was not aggressively distributed in the U.S. and did much better in Europe. Generally those who really connected to "The Matrix" will find it insufficiently manipulative (requiring too much viewer self-analysis and participation) while those who hated "The Matrix" will hate it for being too manipulative. So if you found "Matrix" generally intriguing but did not go ga-gah over it, you should make it a point to check out "eXistenZ". It is not really sci-fi or action adventure but a psychological thriller (just as "The Hole" is not a horror film but a psychological thriller). It places Kurt Vonnegut's theme "you are what you pretend to be so be careful what you pretend to be" into an allegorical tale of shifting reality. Do we ever actually exercise free will? Does escaping from reality contribute to reality getting worse, in actuality or in our perception? You are meant to internalize this theme and to ask yourself these questions. My only real complaint is that the final twist (unlike the earlier twists) does not click into place when you first see in or later as you work backwards to find clues and foreshadowing elements that support this element. Without these the twist is silly and unnecessary. While it does not ruin all that has gone before it does seem like just a lame attempt to prepare the way for a sequel.

one bored Sunday afternoon i thought i would browse for a film to pass the time, and happened upon eXistenZ, boy do I wish I hadnt Totally confusing in its complete lack of suspense, an audible plot, effective script and believable performances by any of the actors. Even Christopher Ecclestone was awful in it, that should give you an idea just how bad this film is. Starting with some kind of bizarre alludes to anal probing (the game pod interface obviously intended to resemble this orifice) whereby Jennifer Jason Leigh seems to derive some strange pleasure from having her interface probed, and Jude Law being compelled to stick his tongue in hers, I was left wondering if this was going to turn into some kind of low rate virtual reality/cyber * film. Unfortunately nothing as interesting as this was actually realised, and the film just slipped into a 'are we still in the game' convoluted B.S. as it transferred the players (and viewers) from one ridiculously unbelievable scene to the next. The game pods themselves were hysterically funny, and again alluded to some kind of sexual connection to the game playing, as they are animal in nature and have to have their 'nipple' tweaked in order to start the game. Jennifer Jason Leigh also at many times fondles and caresses her pod in a most unsettling way, almost making the viewer say the words 'get a room' Well i wish they had and the film could have ended there. Shame cos I like Jude Law but i have lost so much respect for him as an actor. Surprisingly there are a few very well known actors in this film but don't let that fool you into watching it. This really is sci-fi drivel at its absolute worst. Avoid at all costs!!

I was attracted to this movie by the line "Makes the Matrix look like child's play" on the promotional flyer. What a misrepresentation. Matrix is a vastly superior movie to ExistenZ. In fact ExistenZ is simply a very ordinary movie, which looks like it was made on a shoestring budget. I have really enjoyed a few Cronenberg movies such as Scanners and Videodrome, but this was not even close to being as good as those movies. In fact there was clearly a great deal of influence from another awful Cronenberg movie, The Naked Lunch, in this movie. Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh are both excellent actors, but they seemed lost in this movie, wandering around trying to work out what to do next. There are other heavyweights such as Ian Holm and William Dafoe whose roles are must have been intended to be caricatures. The scenes which depict the civil war are some of the least convincing and low budget efforts I have ever seen in a movie boasting such a good cast. Watch this one with your expectations set very low and, who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised!

Here do you get from a nice idea for a movie to a terrible film? Answer: Overcomplicate the whole thing. 'eXistenZ' has a good idea for one of those Russian doll movie concepts. A theme within a theme within a theme and the viewer doesn't know where he is. This is exciting and keeps you glued to the screen...unless the second theme is as disconnected from the main theme as it is silly, and this is our case here. Several times I wanted to simply stop watching the movie, but I kept telling myself that somehow everything would end up clicking and I would really get into whatever plot the director wanted me to find out. Unfortunately, that not only never happened, but the movie sank into deeper confusion as it progressed to its final doom: The viewer semi-comatose state by pure boredom. Disgusting scenes with animal entrails, a forced and useless sexual tension between the characters, unbelievable (as in "sorry I don't believe it") performances, and a predictable ending featuring childish shouts makes this movie's existence definitely questionable.

'eXistenZ' sorts out the men from the boys. That is, your reaction to this marvellous movie will depend whether you are S.F. literate and familiar with Cronenberg's oeuvre, or a 'Matrix'-loving, Johnny-come-lately. Now I enjoy 'The Matrix' as a superior action movie, but no movie in recent years has been so overrated, and grossly exaggerated as intellectual fare! 'eXistenZ' and Alex Proyas' similarly overlooked 'Dark City' are everything 'The Matrix' claims to be - intelligent, thought provoking, CHALLENGING S.F. This movie is almost a summary of all the themes and motifs that Cronenberg has been obsessed about for the last 25 years or so. Especially the Burroughsian "biological horror" and the Phildickian questioning of reality. While it echoes many of his previous movies, it especially evokes his masterpiece 'Videodrome'. It may not reach the hallucinogenic heights of that movie - very few have - but it certainly takes you to places most contemporary S.F. and horror movies don't even try to reach. However this movie isn't just Cronenberg rehashing his "greatest hits". There are more than enough new and interesting touches, especially the Rushdie-like Fatwah theme, the odd sexual symbolism, and the witty touches such as the bone guns that fire teeth. Helping all this along is the interesting, carefully chosen cast. All are good, but I especially like Willem Dafoe's creepy garage mechanic, and it was also great to see Canadian cult star Don McKellar ('Highway 61', 'Twitch City',etc) as the enigmatic "Russian" Yevgeny. 'Videodrome' has taken many years to find its real audience, and maybe 'eXistenz' will too. But I believe eventually it will be recognised for what it is - a work of great imagination and flair.

"We're both stumbling around together in this unformed world, whose rules and objectives are largely unknown, seemingly indecipherable or even possibly nonexistent, always on the verge of being killed by forces that we don't understand." So says Ted Pikul in the film. Which for some people sums up life and 'eXistenZ' probably is a film about existence. What is real and what is unreal and how you tell the difference. Or not. The last line of the film is superbly ambiguous. The film seems like a shaggy dog story (indeed it has a real shaggy dog in it) but it takes you along on an interesting ride, full of provocative Cronenberg touches that will make you look at amphibians, game pods, fish, spines and bones in a new light. Some bits are quite icky. It takes place in a rural setting where the gas station is called 'GAS STATION' and a Chinese restaurant is called 'CHINESE RESTAURANT.'The film has an engrossing texture that is leagues away from your usual big budget science fiction movie.You can read many things into the film and it repays watching more than once. The main actors are Jude Law who is OK and Jennifer Jason Leigh who is great. Some roles don't suit this very talented actor but when she has a good role like this she is unmatchable. Her unconventional beauty and fascinating voice suits the part of Allegra. (Looks great in a short black skirt too.) There are other familiar actors but they are not given much to do. It looks good, sounds good and a Howard Shore score complements the film very well. Cronenberg is possibly the Alfred Hitchcock of the sci-fi/horror genre. No matter what film he makes he is always worth watching.

From the brilliantly twisted mind of director David Cronenberg comes "eXistenZ." What is "eXistenZ," exactly? A new male enhancement product? No, rather, it's a reality enhancement product; a new type of video-game/virtual reality experience, to be even more specific. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the programmer of said video game, while Jude Law plays her hapless protector and our surrogate as the audience. The further down the rabbit-hole Law's character goes, so too do we, until we are left dizzy and without words to describe what we just saw. Early in the film, our characters are on the run from somebody who wants to do away with this ground-breaking technology. They'll have to deal with a creepy Willem DeFoe character and deadly spores along the way, while still finding time to explore their new reality and test their limitations. Cronenberg's film pretty much hits the ground running and doesn't allow us the chance to catch our breath as it levels up. Because this is vintage Cronenberg, of course there is plenty of gooey grossness to go around, the least of which are the "portholes" that allow would-be gamers to plug in. Those crushing on the lovely Leigh may find themselves feeling somewhat conflicted about whether the "porthole" exploring is sensual or nausea inducing. Plot-wise, the film draws comparisons to other late '90s tech- thrillers like "Dark City" and "The Matrix." Heck, even the DVD box- art states that "eXistenZ" "makes 'The Matrix' look like 'Child's Play.'" Well, I don't know about all that, seeing as how I personally don't ever recall seeing a killer doll dodging bullets in that movie, but no matter. What sets "eXistenZ" apart is that it is less focused on its dystopian future and more focused on our present quandary in balancing technological advances with good old down-to- earth human experience. Like the best Cronenberg films, "eXistenZ" has a lot to say about that subject, but doesn't bludgeon or bore his audience with it. Trade the giant placenta-like sacks of skin in this film for the latest iPhone, and it's safe to say that "eXistenZ" was ahead of its time, to say the least.